KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian auto brands have narrowed the gap with the non-national makes in overall sales satisfaction among new vehicle owners in the country, a survey conducted by JD Power found.
“As a whole, Malaysian national brands (Inokom, Naza, Perodua and Proton) improved by an average of six points from 2008,” said JD Power in its Asia Pacific 2009 Malaysia Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study released yesterday.
“In contrast, the non-national brands included in the study decreased by an average of seven points, as a whole.”
Although national brands still trailed non-national brands by 16 index points, JD Power said the gap was considerably less than the 29 points in 2008. “National brands overall demonstrate the greatest improvement in the delivery timing factor and have also improved considerably from 2008 in the sales initiation and delivery process factors,” said JD Power in the statement.
The latest survey on customer satisfaction showed that overall sales satisfaction among new vehicle owners in Malaysia increased from 2008 by 3 points to 781.
Among the nine brands ranked in the study, Isuzu rated the highest in overall new-vehicle sales satisfaction with a score of 805. JD Power said Isuzu performed particularly well in six of seven factors: delivery process; paperwork; dealer facility; salesperson; deal and sales initiation.
Isuzu was followed by Toyota (798) and Suzuki (793). Toyota performed well in the delivery timing. Also ranking above the industry average were Honda, Mitsubishi and Nissan (tied at 783 each).
“Shortened delivery times are largely attributable to the economic downturn and reduced demand at dealerships,” said Taku Kimoto, general manager for Malaysia at JD Power Asia Pacific, Singapore.
“In light of this, consumer expectations around delivery times are changing. Dealers and manufacturers will need to continuously improve in this area to keep pace with these expectations.”
The study also found that the percentage of customers who negotiated the price of their vehicle increased by 7% from 2008 to 72% in 2009. At the same time, the percentage of customers who believed it was necessary to negotiate to obtain the lowest price and also indicated that they did not enjoy negotiating had increased by 6%.
“Given the current economic environment, customers are becoming more price sensitive,” said Kimoto. “Although some customers are reluctant to negotiate, they feel strongly about pushing to receive lower prices.”
The 2009 Malaysia SSI Study was based on the responses of more than 2,400 new vehicle owners who purchased their vehicles between September 2008 and April 2009. The study was fielded between March and June 2009.
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